France

Ethan Cochran went to Myrtle Beach, S.C. to win a trip to France. How did he do it? The Newport Harbor High senior-to-be won the discus event at the World Youth Track and Field Trials Wednesday at Myrtle Beach High. After winning, he was selected to represent the U.S. at the International Assn. of Athletics Federations World Youth Championships July 6 through 10 in Lille, France. "It was relieving," Cochran, when reached by phone, said of being selected to Team USA. "I went back to the school at 6:30 to find out. I had a pretty good feeling I was going to make it though.

Young Chang Tim Marshall become somewhat of an international star last month for having run alongside Lance Armstrong waving the American flag during one stage of the Tour de France. "And the TV reporters all commented on him," said wife Patsy Marshall. "So all our friends here in Newport saw him and called us. We had a cell phone over there in Europe and we got millions of phone calls." When they weren't at the three-week Tour de France during their summer vacation, which ran from July 21 through Aug. 5, the Newport Beach couple laid on the beach in Saint Tropez and visited spots including Portofino and Lake Como.

MARSEILLE, France — The past two weeks have not been too kind to the duo of former Newport Harbor High standout April Ross and Jen Kessy. But the beach volleyball tandem broke through in France on Sunday. Ross and Kessy defeated Vassilliki Arvaniti and Maria Tsiartsiani of Greece, 21-16, 21-7, to win the championship at the World Series 13 Grand Chelem. The event is part of the SWATCH Federation Internationale de Volleyball World Tour. It took 42 minutes for Ross and Kessy, the No. 3-seeded team, to pull off the win over the No. 20th-seeded duo and earn the right share the $43,000 first-place prize.

Andrew Glazer NEWPORT BEACH--Players and fans of a local club soccer team, which leaves today for an international tournament to be held outside Paris, said they look forward to meeting and beating other teams from around the world. "We're not afraid of any of the teams," said Ignacio Corona, 11, goalie for the Slammers soccer team, made up of 10- and 11-year-old boys. "We're a great team, good friends and we know how to play." The Slammers--composed of boys from Newport Beach to Norwalk-- normally play at Bonita Creek Park and a field at Lincoln Elementary School.

Liz Swiertz Newman Only exceptional circumstances could have induced us to travel to France in mid-March. There were many reasons not to go: It might be rainy then; terrorism made travel conditions unsettled; and the air between our nations became clouded with war issues as our departure date grew near. Regardless, my husband and I needed to be in Toulouse right then. Our granddaughter's term as an exchange student was ending, and we had planned to show her a bit of France before her classes at Dartmouth began again.

Ethan Cochran didn't start out too well at the International Assn. of Athletics Federations World Youth Track and Field Championships, but he finished strong. The Newport Harbor High senior-to-be won the silver medal in the discus, earning second place in the discus event in Lille, France Wednesday. In the morning, he had two no-throws and qualified for the finals with a mark of 57.13 meters, which is 187 feet, 5 inches. But in the finals, Cochran unleashed his personal best, 61.37 meters, which is 201 feet, 4 inches.

VILLE DE MARLY, France - The Newport Beach Slammers boys 11 and under soccer team took third place in the International Boys 12 and Under Tournament in June. It was the highest finish for a U.S. team in the tournament's 24-year history. With teams from Morocco, Holland and France, some of Europe's best youngsters took part in the event. Despite all the teams being a year older than the Slammers' squad, the American team battled all the way, reaching the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Paris St. Germain.

The Daily Pilot asked young geographers at Girls Inc. of Orange County, "Which country would you most like to visit?" "France, because it just sounds interesting." Rhiannon Parker, 10, Costa Mesa "Mexico, because of the music." Hannah Clark-Nixon, 7, Newport Beach "England, because I want to see the Changing of the Guard in London, and I might even get to see the queen in her carriage if she's not on vacation." Ally Simpson, 9 , Costa Mesa "France or Spain.

S.J. Cahn There are a few long-running rivalries in the sport of surfing. The United States versus Australia. Hawaii versus California. Northern California versus Southern California. In Santa Cruz, even, its west side versus east side. But France versus the U.S.? That's a new one. And it will be on full, international display Friday night at the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards. The big wave awards, the brainchild of Newport Beach's Bill Sharp, have shaped up this year, strangely, along lines that might have gone unnoticed had France and the U.S. not divided so notoriously over the U.S. war in Iraq.

Liz Swiertz Newman According to my World War II weatherman husband, Lee, only three places in the world have the year-round climate we enjoy here in Newport-Mesa: the Southern California coast, the northeastern coast of New Zealand, and the French and Italian Riviera. For winter and spring visits to France, forget Paris -- unless your love is there: The Cote d'Azur is the place to go -- specifically Nice (rhymes with peace). Nice has an airport not unlike Orange County's.

SEIGNOSSE - LE PENON, France - Courtney Conlogue, a graduate of Sage Hill School, won the Swatch Girls Pro France surfing event completed Sunday. Conlogue, celebrating her 21st birthday Sunday, defeated Joanne Defay in the final, posting a wave score of 9.60, the second-best of the event, and 8.87 to total 18.47 points out of a possible 20. Defay, a French competitor, totaled 14.0 for her two waves in the final. It was the second straight Girls Pro France victory for Conlogue, who earned $8,000.

Frances Marie Marston, loving wife, mother, grandmother, & great grandmother, passed away July 14, 2012 at the age of 87. She was born December 19th, 1924 in Hoyt, Colorado to Charles and Martha Ormsby. Frances grew up in Huntington Beach and graduated from Huntington Beach High School in 1942. In 1940 she was chosen Miss Victory and rode on the float in the Huntington Beach Parade. She loved the Huntington Beach Parade and never missed it...

Even in board shorts and a T-shirt, Kevin Tillie raises eyebrows in his Newport Beach neighborhood, navigating somewhat skittishly along the cultural shore break that sometimes renders him a hopeless outsider. "I'm getting better [with the cultural differences], but I still get people who recognize me and ask me 'Where are you from?' or a random 'You're not from around here,'" said Tillie, a native of France in his first season with the UC Irvine men's volleyball team. His mildly discernible accent often gives him away, and prompts kidding from teammates who refer to him as [French]

Life has a way of coming around full circle. Switching on the car radio as I drove in the St. Patrick's Day rain, I overheard an NPR report about a newly restored "Napoleon," the 1927 silent film masterpiece by French filmmaker Abel Gance, which was coming to a screen in the Bay Area. When the reporter noted that Francis Ford Coppola presented his own restored version of this cinematic epic in 1981, and how, at the end of the screening, Coppola telephoned the nonagenarian Gance in Paris to converse with him from the stage, I recalled a memory frozen deep in my past.

Arthur Frances Cassidy born in Philly, PA on 11/05/38, came to California in 1969, died on 9/11/11. He was the original founder of Cassidy's Pub in Newport Beach, CA. He is survived by four daughters Debbie, Donna, Dawn, and Denise and two siblings Tommy and Marie, twelve grandchildren and five great grandchildren. He will be deeply missed and was loved by all.

Ethan Cochran didn't start out too well at the International Assn. of Athletics Federations World Youth Track and Field Championships, but he finished strong. The Newport Harbor High senior-to-be won the silver medal in the discus, earning second place in the discus event in Lille, France Wednesday. In the morning, he had two no-throws and qualified for the finals with a mark of 57.13 meters, which is 187 feet, 5 inches. But in the finals, Cochran unleashed his personal best, 61.37 meters, which is 201 feet, 4 inches.

Ethan Cochran went to Myrtle Beach, S.C. to win a trip to France. How did he do it? The Newport Harbor High senior-to-be won the discus event at the World Youth Track and Field Trials Wednesday at Myrtle Beach High. After winning, he was selected to represent the U.S. at the International Assn. of Athletics Federations World Youth Championships July 6 through 10 in Lille, France. "It was relieving," Cochran, when reached by phone, said of being selected to Team USA. "I went back to the school at 6:30 to find out. I had a pretty good feeling I was going to make it though.

Last weekend, Alberto Contador of Spain won his third Tour de France in the last four years. Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, last year's runner-up, finished second again, only 39 seconds behind the winner. Lance Armstrong, in what appears to be his final Tour, finished a disappointing 23rd. Despite the announcement of a federal probe of allegations about past drug use by Armstrong, this year's edition of the storied bicycle race around France was regarded as perhaps the cleanest in years.

“A villa in Tuscany.” For the past two decades, the phrase has been synonymous with the good life — the really good life. Think dappled sunlight, artfully crumbling edifices, the scent of fresh-cut herbs and a stellar bottle of Brunello. One woman was almost solely responsible for many of our terracotta-hued daydreams. Frances Mayes first hit the collective consciousness with the publication of her now-iconic memoir, “Under the Tuscan Sun.” The book went on to become a popular (although romanticized)

CORONA DEL MAR — This wasn’t your typical junior high school basketball game. That could be heard from the start when a girl sang the Star Spangled Banner and the French national anthem. A team from Antibes, France visited Newport Beach, staying with local families as they toured various spots in Southern California. The students from France also came to play basketball. Bo St. Geme and the Seaweeds showed them how a team can come back and win. The eighth-grader scored 13 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, and sealed a 58-55 win with two huge free throws with nine seconds left.